Since the end of last season the Blue Square Football Conference has seen the demise of three of its' member clubs. Halifax Town, Boston United and Nuneaton Borough have all lost their membership of the Football Conference because of their continuing financial problems and instability.
The Board of the Blue Square Football Conference, as a consequence, have set up a monitoring system which, it is hoped, will give them an early warning about any club which is failing to fulfill its' financial obligations to the Inland Revenue (P.A.Y.E.) and the Customs and Excise (V.A.T.).
The Board of Workington A.F.C. are determined that the club will be run without incurring any unmanageable debts which has not been the case for a number of clubs at our level.
We are also determined that we will continue to make our case to Allerdale Borough Council for the retention of Borough Park as the home of the club despite the apparent desires of the officers employed by Allerdale Borough Council to persist in their quest for a “super stadium” to be shared by Workington Reds and Workington Town. The evidence is overwhelming that such a scheme would result in the demise of the Workington Football Club which we all know and love.
Our own scheme for the development of Borough Park would safeguard the future of Workington A.F.C. for many years and enable the club to be financially self-sufficient with income from both matches and the use of the facilities within the proposed stand development for regular functions.
We can not go back in time and the glories of Reds and Town are past and are very unlikely to be repeated. The geography and the population numbers of West Cumbria and district dictate that we have to “cut our coat according to our cloth”.
With travel to other more affluent football clubs being fairly easily available to the football fans of West Cumbria , no longer can we count our supporters in thousands – a number in the hundreds is more realistic.
Maybe with a successful season we can raise our level but it's down to the number of people coming through the turnstiles that our future depends. Along of course with the help that should be coming from Allerdale Borough Council – after all the land that was sold to Tesco did belong to the people of Workington and was designated for use as a sporting site. Cycling, athletics and football were specifically mentioned in the sale to the Workington Council of the day.
May I ask you to do whatever you can to make your views know to the Councillors of Allerdale Borough Council to leave them in no doubt that it is their views and their decision which matters and not the views of the paid officers who can leave Allerdale at the drop of a hat should they wish.
Colin Doorbar
Director – Workington A.F.C.